Public Wi-Fi is a great step forward so you can have instant access to your Facebook account and keep up to date with what is going on with your bank account. However, not all Wi-Fi options are secure and they may be subjecting your device to dangerous hackers.
Even at the 2018 RSA Conference people trusted the Wi-Fi network, which makes sense. WatchGuard set up a honeypot access point (AP) at their RSA booth offering free, open Wi-Fi access for attendees. About 30% of attendees connected to the “secure Wi-Fi”. Luckily, for them, this was a test from WatchGuard showing how many people are willing to connect to any free Wi-Fi. They want to remind you to always think before you connect to free Wi-Fi. Connecting to free Wi-Fi can subject your decide to a man-in-the-middle attack in less than 2 minutes, so if a malicious actor had set up a similar access point they could have easily stolen sensitive information.
Here are a few tips to keep your information secure wherever you are:
Don’t connect to public Wi-Fi SSIDs if multiple variations are broadcasted – this is not normal for a legitimate business.
When you need to access something such as your bank account or a confidential corporate report, consider disabling Wi-Fi and using your 4G connection. Once you’ve wrapped up the confidential task, feel free to hop back on Wi-Fi.
Clear your saved Wi-Fi network names from each of your devices and consider disabling the “auto-connect” feature in your device settings.
Wireless threats are becoming a big problem in our connected world and you need to be aware of these threats that can ruin your day. Maybe you can wait to check your Facebook or update your Twitter status. For more security tips, check back to our website every week!
Want to learn more about what a Managed Security Services Provider is? Listen to Succurri partner, Grant Eckstrom, and Fractional CMO, Tony Lael, discuss the topic in more depth in this video.
